Elephants can’t sue to leave the zoo, court rules

 

Colorado’s highest court on Tuesday ruled that five elderly elephants don’t have legal standing to sue to leave a local zoo because they’re not human.

An animal rights group had sought to have the African elephants, Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo, freed from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and moved to an elephant sanctuary, citing a legal process known as “habeas corpus” that allows individuals in custody to challenge their detention or incarceration in court. 

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 6-0 in favor of an earlier district court decision, saying that from a legal standpoint, the question “boils down to whether an elephant is a person.” “It bears noting that the narrow legal question before this court does not turn on our regard for these majestic animals generally or these five elephants specifically,” State Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter wrote in her ruling. But, she added, “because an elephant is not a person, the elephants here do not have standing to bring a habeas corpus claim” under Colorado law.  

The Nonhuman Rights Project, a U.S.-based animal advocacy organization, had submitted affidavits from seven animal biologists in support of its case. They explained that elephants share numerous cognitive capacities with humans — including self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to learn and communicate. In the wild, elephants travel for many miles each day in complex social groups, the experts said. 

 

RFK Jr. faces mounting bipartisan criticism

 

Pressure is mounting on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as critics squeeze senators from both sides of the aisle to oppose President Trump’s pick to be the nation’s top health official. 

Kennedy’s bipartisan opponents, including liberal advocates and an organization founded by former Vice President Pence, argue the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services secretary isn’t fit to serve.  

Liberals point to Kennedy’s longtime advocacy against vaccines and his role as the founder of the prominent anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense.  

Democratic-aligned group Protect Our Care is spending roughly $1 million on a campaign to highlight how Kennedy could endanger the nation’s health system, running television and digital ads about his record, releasing reports using Kennedy’s own words, and holding events in the districts of key lawmakers.  

In a likely preview of what Kennedy will face from Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) last week pressed him in a letter to answer 175 questions on a range of topics including vaccines, his shifting positions on reproductive rights, his pledge to gut the National Institutes of Health, drug pricing and the Affordable Care Act, among many others.  

“Given your dangerous views on vaccine safety and public health, including your baseless opposition to vaccines, and your inconsistent statements in important policy areas like reproductive rights access, I have serious concerns regarding your ability to oversee the Department,” Warren wrote.  

In many cases, Warren quoted Kennedy directly and asked him to explain his comments, such as when he wrote in his 2023 book about vaccines that “[t]here is virtually no science assessing the overall health effects of the vaccination schedule or its component vaccines.” 

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said Democrats may be sympathetic to Kennedy’s arguments about healthy eating and reforming the food system, but his past advocacy against vaccines is disqualifying and puts lives at risk. 

“We don’t have to bring measles and mumps back in order to fix our food system. We don’t have to bring back the horrors of polio in the name of cleansing our diet,” Schatz said.  

On the conservative side, the Pence-launched group Advancing American Freedom on Wednesday launched a six-figure ad campaign opposing Kennedy’s nomination.  

While the ads highlight controversial comments made by Kennedy across a variety of issues, AAF has been highlighting the former Democratic presidential candidate’s past support for abortion. 

“It is not a no-brainer for a pro-life senator to just sign up on this. I think it really requires some real due diligence, and I just don’t think that’s been done yet,” Advancing American Freedom president Tim Chapman said.  

Chapman said his organization wants conservative senators to know they’re not alone in questioning Kennedy’s commitment to the anti-abortion cause. Their opposition will be a test of whether traditional conservative arguments still matter to a Republican Party that has been remade under Trump. 

“It is odd to me that there are not more conservatives out there who are raising the issue,” Chapman said, adding that he has heard from lawmakers who privately express their concerns but are afraid to say so publicly out of fear of backlash from the administration and its allies.  

He wants to give them political cover.  

“It is a very difficult environment right now for those people to go on the record and say that. So, you know, for us, we feel like it’s an obligation on our part to raise a flag, to draw attention to it, and then let the chips fall where they may,” Chapman said.  

The bipartisan critiques show just how narrow Kennedy’s path to confirmation is. He can only lose three Republican votes if every Democrat votes against him.    

Senate Finance Committee chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced Wednesday that Kennedy’s confirmation hearing will be Jan. 29. 

The hearing had been held up due to delays in Kennedy’s financial disclosure and ethics reports, but once they were posted online, the hearing was quickly scheduled.   

GOP senators who have met with Kennedy so far have also largely dismissed any concerns about abortion. 

Kennedy has tried to reassure Republicans by saying his personal views don’t matter, and that he will implement all of the anti-abortion policies from the first Trump administration.  

Kennedy “recognizes that abortion is a tragedy and is surrounding himself with proven conservatives who will quickly reverse Biden’s radical and unpopular abortion policies,” Roger Severino, a longtime anti-abortion stalwart and director of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights during the first Trump administration, said in an email.

CNN to lay off hundreds of employees as post-inauguration transformation begins, sources say

 

The layoffs come as CNN is rearranging its linear TV lineup and building out digital subscription products. The cuts will help CNN lower production costs and consolidate teams, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes.

Certain shows that are produced in New York or Washington may move to Atlanta, where production can be done more cheaply, said the people.

For the most part, the job cuts won’t affect CNN’s most recognizable names, who are under contract, said the people. CNN has about 3,500 employees worldwide.

During a town hall meeting earlier this month, CNN CEO Mark Thompson said the media company has received an investment of “more than $70 million” from Warner Bros. Discovery to help fund the company’s digital operations. Part of that investment will go toward hiring employees in areas where CNN sees potential growth avenues, such as data scientists and product development.

In October, CNN launched a digital paywall, charging heavier users of the site $3.99 per month.

NBC News is also planning cuts later this week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes. While the exact number couldn’t be determined, the job losses will be well under 50, two of the people said.

Spokespeople for NBC News and CNN declined to comment.

Both news organizations waited until after the U.S. presidential inauguration to make the cuts. The news media landscape is in transition as fewer people watch linear TV and more consume their news on streaming services and through social media.

The so-called "Gulf of America" is now appearing in official documents

 

AS DONALD Trump enters his third day in office several executive orders are already kicking in - with And offices set up as part of federal diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) efforts are already being closed down after the Maga leader waged war against the "dangerous" measures.

Within hours of being sworn in on Monday Trump, 78, signed a slew of executive orders and pardons in what was dubbed a "shock and awe" effort. Some of them targeted diversity initiatives aimed at hiring practices that Trump described as "dangerous, demeaning and immoral".

He also axed several other orders promoting equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community, DEI measures in healthcare and signed a new one claiming there are only two genders. Meanwhile Florida became the first US state to describe the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" in a weather alert this week.

It read: "An area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America, interacting with Arctic air, will bring widespread impactful winter weather to North Florida..." And the US Coast Guard did the same in an official press release that read "The maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America... "

Trump signed an order on Monday decreeing that the ocean basin would be renamed. Bordered by the US Gulf coast, Mexico’s eastern states and Cuba - the Gulf is a key point for fishing, transport, oil and gas production. Earlier this month he claimed the name change would be acceptable "because we do most of the work there, and it’s ours".

Without a formal international precedent for this situation it's unclear whether or not he'll be able to do so.
From Wednesday evening US federal employees working in diversity offices will be put on paid leave - with the offices fully closed under Trump.

An official internal White House memo read: "Send a notification to all employees of DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs." Trump said during his campaign that DEI measures discriminated against white people, and men, in particular.

One of his executive orders read: "The Biden administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the federal government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military."

He has also pledge to prevent transgender women from competing in men's sports after being a long-standing public opponent of their inclusion.
OTHER EXECUTIVE ORDERS

One of Trump's first acts after settling back into the Oval Office was to pardon over 1,500 Americans who were convicted in connection with the deadly riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He also gave orders for around 450 pending cases against January 6 defendants to be dismissed.

His supporters stormed the Capitol after Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election - falsely claiming the vote had been rigged. Roughly 140 police officers were assaulted during the attack, with some sprayed with chemical irritants and others struck with pipes, poles and other weapons.

Four people died during the chaos, including a Trump supporter who was shot dead by police. Jacob Chansley, far-right conspiracy theorist and Capitol rioter also known as the "QAnon Shaman", was among those pardoned. He also declared an official national emergency at the US-Mexico border on Monday - meaning he can use federal funding to build a wall along the boundary without the permission of Congress.

While signing the order, he said: "That's a big one. People have wanted to do this for years." And he signed a directive to try and end birthright citizenship - when a person born on US soil is given American citizenship.
Trump also signed an order to designate Mexican drug cartels and certain gangs from El Salvador or Venezuela as foreign terrorist organisations.

This could give his government more powers to go after the criminal organisations with military strikes or to forcefully remove their members from the US. He also withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement and the WHO - meaning the organisation will be millions of dollars worse off - and certain global vaccination directives will no longer apply to the US.

Social media site TikTok recently came under fire in the US because of its Chinese parent company - ByteDance. It went offline during a brief ban in America on Sunday - but was back again with a notification thanking "President Trump" for his efforts.

After officially taking office on Monday he signed an executive order to block the ban from taking effect for a further 90 days. It gives ByteDance a month and a half to divest from TikTok - therefore salvaging the app for Americans. "I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok," he said.

Dois sexos, fim do 'X' no passaporte e "tirar os homens dos desportos femininos: Trump avança com agenda contra "extremismos de género"

 

Ordens executivas de Trump estipulam que há apenas dois sexos. Na função pública, pronomes deixam de ser perguntados e, no passaporte, o 'X' desaparece. Presidente quer fim de "extremismos de género".

Ainda não é claro o que vai acontecer com as casas de banho mistas nos EUA. É uma “sociedade que não vê cores e que é baseada no mérito”. Esta é a visão que a nova administração Trump tem para os Estados Unidos da América (EUA).

O novo chefe de Estado vai assinar nas próximas horas algumas ordens executivas que vão reverter várias das políticas de diversidade, igualdade e inclusão adotadas pelo ex-Presidente, Joe Biden. Na base das medidas está a ideia de que há apenas dois sexos — e não géneros: o masculino e o feminino.

Neste sentido, como escreve o Politico, o Presidente norte-americano vai instruir várias agências governamentais — como o Departamento de Estado e o Departamento de Segurança Interna — para retirar a opção “não-binária” ou “outra” dos documentos federais. 

Nos passaportes, desde 2022, o Departamento de Estado permite que os norte-americanos que se identifiquem como não-binários ou intersexos utilizem uma terceira opção — o “X” — no campo do género; ora, isso vai alterar-se nas próximas horas.

(Continua)

Trevor Phillips: "Seguidores do islamismo têm valores muito diferentes do resto da sociedade e muitos querem levar vidas separadas"

 

 

O ex-presidente da Comissão de Igualdades e Direitos Humanos da Grã-Bretanha (EHRC), Trevor Phillips, admitiu que "errou em quase tudo" em relação à imigração num anterior relatório, alegando que os muçulmanos estão a criar "nações dentro de nações" no Ocidente.

Phillips diz que os seguidores do islamismo têm valores muito diferentes do resto da sociedade e muitos querem levar vidas separadas. O ex-presidente da Comissão de Fiscalização da Igualdade do Reino Unido também defende o controle de populações de minorias étnicas em bairros de habitação social, para impedir que se tornem em guetos. Trevor Phillips diz que as escolas podem ter que considerar um limite de 50 por cento para alunos muçulmanos ou de outras minorias para encorajar a integração social. E diz que descobertas perturbadoras de pesquisas recentes apontam para um abismo crescente entre as atitudes de muitos muçulmanos britânicos e seus compatriotas.

(…) "Não é como se não pudéssemos ter previsto isso. Mas falhámos repetidamente em detectar os sinais de alerta", escreve Trevor Phillips no The Times, em resposta a novos dados recolhidos. "Vinte anos atrás (…) publiquei o relatório intitulado "Islamofobia: Um Desafio para Todos Nós". Na altura pensávamos que o risco real da chegada de novas comunidades era a discriminação contra os muçulmanos.
"Nossa pesquisa de 1996 sobre incidentes recentes mostrou que havia muito disso por aí. Mas erramos em quase todo o resto." Em um artigo para o Daily Mail, Phillips alerta sobre uma "luta de vida ou morte pela alma do islamismo britânico". "A Grã-Bretanha é, de muitas maneiras, um lugar melhor do que nunca — mais próspera, mais diversa, mais liberal.

Esta conclusão preocupante provém do inquérito mais abrangente alguma vez realizado junto dos muçulmanos britânicos, encomendado pelo Channel 4. "Depois de ter sido pedido para analisar os seus resultados, acredito que contém uma mensagem sombria para todos nós. "Há uma luta de vida ou de morte pela alma do Islão britânico — e esta não é uma batalha que o resto de nós se possa dar ao luxo de ficar de fora. Precisamos de tomar partido." - afirmou Trevor Phillips.

"Mas, para alguns dos nossos concidadãos, estamos a ir na direcção totalmente errada. Tanto assim é que alguns deles prefeririam viver sob um sistema totalmente diferente. "De facto, uma minoria significativa dos três milhões de muçulmanos da Grã-Bretanha considera-nos uma nação de moral tão baixa que preferem viver mais separados dos seus compatriotas não muçulmanos, de preferência ao abrigo da lei da sharia.

"Esta conclusão preocupante provém do inquérito mais abrangente alguma vez realizado junto dos muçulmanos britânicos, encomendado pelo Channel 4. "Depois de ter sido pedido para analisar os seus resultados, acredito que contém uma mensagem sombria para todos nós. "Há uma luta de vida ou de morte pela alma do Islão britânico — e esta não é uma batalha que o resto de nós se possa dar ao luxo de ficar de fora. Precisamos de tomar partido.

Europa e o Islão são incompatíveis

 

Resultado de uma prática comum na comunidade muçulmana: o casamento entre primos directos